Harp, I have two holsters for the Encore 15" : one a Bianca bandoleer and the other a T/C bandoleer .......both are a nylon/cordoba type material. The T/C is by far the nicer of the two, a lot softer, and less noisy when going through briers and whatnot. However the Bianca has a much nicer strap system. Pick your poison ! Neither is cheap, I believe around $80 for either one. I've never been a fan of big leather holsters, seems like most are stiffer than a board. OMO ! Good Luck
You are correct about being stiff when built in the traditional sense.
Mine are not, as noise was one of the main issues and reason I started making them ,,,,my way.
I use soft leather, and the liner provides extra body, yet is soft and muffles as well.
The leathers I make, are as close to dead silent as you can get.
The synthetics, are made the same way, but any syn. material is going to noisier. Still mine are far quieter than your 3 layer closed cell foam type. Mine aren't inexpensive as some, but mine aren't mass produced in Aisa or where ever either.
They are made to customer spec's, one at a time by me.
And Thanks to those whom posted recomendations!!!!
Dave